To Marguerite by Matthew Arnold

Yes! In the sea of life isolated like islands;
Being repeatedly separated;
Dotted across the wild sea;
We humans live alone.
The islands feel the tight grasp of the sea;
And yet they still realize their lack of limitation.


But when the moon illuminates their hollows;
And they are soothed by spring;
Nightingales sing divine songs of hope;
And their lovely sounds echo from shore to shore;
Across the sounds and channels of the sea.


Oh! Then great desire causes sadness;
That is sent to the farthest parts of the mind;
For certain, at some point in time,
We were all connected together
But now we are broken into pieces as water separates us;
I hope that we can mend our broken relationship in time.


Who ordered that our relationship
Should be ended just as fast as it started?
Whose desire was this?
A God, a God had his way!
And broke our islands into pieces. 


Initial Reaction: 
When I first read To Marguerite I could understand that we also somewhat of an allegory of love. That the islands were symbols of people, of lovers. The author, Matthew Around is saying that people like islands themselves because they are all alone. They make star off connected to each other, or even connect to each other later in life, but they will also be broken up by the water, they will always end up alone. The water also clearly represents life and conflict, as the islands are also being moved and changed by the water. In the poem's final stanza, Around questions who truly decides the fate of the islands. And why the connect (love) of the islands is broken. He answers himself that it is a God who puts the distance between all the people.  



SWIFTT:
The author's syntax and word choice have to do with the sea and words that have to do with islands and the sea. In the first stanza he uses words like shoreless, enisled,islands, flow. In the second stanza he makes references to the night and more nature. He mentions the spring which represents rebirth and new starts. He also mentions nightingales which represent good fortune. In the third stanza he talks about distances in land terms. He uses words such as caverns, continent, watery plain, marges. Then in the last stanza, he is talking about his desires and comparing them to a fire that would be kindled or cooled. Arnold uses a lot of imagery in this poem. For one, he uses the image of people being islands on their own. He uses the seas as images for vast distances and he uses fire as an image for longing and desires. The whole poem is a metaphor comparing people to islands isolated in a large sea. The tone of the poem is sad and expresses longing. Arnold is expressing his desires throughout the poem. The theme of the poem is that distance from your love can lead to total isolation. 


Conclusion: 
I think my initial reaction to the poem was very close to what I think he was trying to say. I understand that the islands were really people and that the poem was both ab out humanity as a whole and some love that Around shared with a girl. A love that he feels was broken apart by God. A love he hopes will be mended in time.